To be fair, during the Cold War the TA had slightly different roles. Looking purely at the Infantry there were iirc - (I'm doing this from memory and while my boss isn't looking) forty one TA Infantry battalions. Fourteen were slated for home defence, whilst the remainder were allocated a BAOR reinforcement role - Cold War plans called for virtually the entire 2nd Infantry Division to be formed from Territorials. They would have fought as organised Battalions (their role iirc was to defend the rear areas and supply lines).
However since the end of the Cold War the TA have served primarily to reinforce Regular units, much as 95th Rifleman has outlined with the Rifles. For example most regular units serving in Afghanistan at the moment will have TA soldiers who have volunteered to serve on an individual basis, so a TA Paratrooper who is nominally part of the 4th Battalion (the TA's only remaining Para Bn) would be attached to one of teh Regular Para Battalions for a tour on Afghanistan.
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Author of the unofficial and strictly non canon Alternative Survivor’s Guide to the United Kingdom
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